from us
Do you think about food? Perhaps you do when your stomach grumbles around lunchtime or when you contemplate what to prepare for dinner. Have you ever considered where your food originates or the fuel expended to get it to your plate? Are you aware that not everyone in Northeast Ohio has access to fresh produce? In this issue, “Food for Thought,” our articles delve into a number of these topics and more. We explore beyond the idea of food as just a way to find satiety from hunger.

In one of our cover stories, Rachel McKinney writes about an amazing program in which students are involved with every stage of growing food. She writes, “The young adults who attend the Hershey Montessori School Adolescent Program at a farm in eastern Geauga County know far more about the food they eat than does the average person, and the knowledge they gain from their experiences around their food education will be applied throughout their lives.”

With a bit of knowledge about how to use what we can grow in our own gardens, we can feel connected to the earth while also finding use for the plants that spring forth from the soil. In our other cover story, “A Biography of Herbs,” Aimee Hughes writes, “For thousands of years, herbs have been valued for their aromatic, health-giving and culinary qualities. They serve as beautiful additions to gardens, intoxicating home decor and highly therapeutic remedies.” Her article goes on to identify an extensive array of easy-to-grow plants and a number of uses for them.

Not everyone has easy access to fresh foods. In urban areas, a variety of programs is working to change this dilemma – called food deserts – particularly in socio-economically poor neighborhoods. In “Fighting the Food Desert Phenomenon,” Punam Ohri-Vachaspati writes, “In Cleveland during the summer, small oases of fresh produce are created in three local food-desert areas by a program called City Fresh. Fresh Stops, the retail outlets of City Fresh, bring produce grown by local farmers to inner-city neighborhoods where most of the food outlets are corner stores or fast-food restaurants.”

In addition, a number of efforts are being made to increase the amount of food grown in urban areas. For example, the article, “From Parking Lot to Growing Plot: Asphalt Gardening,” describes how unused city spaces can – and are – being converted into community gardens. Also, Morgan Taggart's article, “Urban Market Gardens,” details the new phenomenon of city-market gardens, which “are usually defined by their small acreage and the diversity of their crops. Produce from market gardens can be found at neighborhood farmers' markets, individual stands at their gardens and area restaurants.”

As we head into summer, the beginning of our area's growing season, take the opportunity to explore the bounty of the local, farm-fresh products available to us. To aid your quest, we have assembled an area map detailing the many farm markets, as well as a list of some unique market finds. You also will note a number of our advertisers with stores or restaurants that feature local foods. We encourage you to support them in their combined mission to close the gap between local producers and consumers. From the decreased environmental impact to the increased dollars in our economy – and the exceptional flavor and freshness of local food, too – ultimately, we all benefit.

Think about your food. Then eat local and eat well.

Bon appetite,
Balanced Living Magazine